Futures Profit Calculator
Calculate user-entered long or short futures gross and net P/L, reconcile price-move and tick arithmetic, compare both directions, and audit five one-tick exit rows plus five whole-contract rows.
Enter one outright futures trade or valuation
Use actual fills for completed-trade review or label hypothetical prices as a scenario. Verify every multiplier, tick and cash cost for the exact contract and delivery month.
Entered futures profit or loss
Entered Futures Profit 2.0.0.
Entered futures P/L audit
Reconcile direct price movement, ticks, costs, net P/L and the fee-recovery threshold.
On smaller screens, scroll each table horizontally; the page itself remains contained.
| Step | Arithmetic | Result |
|---|
Long and short direction comparison
The same price path produces opposite gross P/L; the same entered costs reduce both net results.
| Direction | Signed price move | Signed ticks | Gross per contract | Gross position | Entered costs | Net position | Row type |
|---|
Five one-tick exit-price scenarios
Direction, entry, specification, contract count and costs stay fixed while exit moves by the entered tick.
| Scenario | Exit price | Raw price change | Signed price move | Signed ticks | Gross per contract | Gross position | Entered costs | Net position | Outcome | Tick grid | Row type |
|---|
Five whole-contract scenarios
The price path and per-contract charge stay fixed; the separate other-position cost is not multiplied.
| Contracts | Gross per contract | Gross position | Round-turn costs | Other position cost | Total costs | Net per contract | Net position | Outcome | Row type |
|---|
These deterministic rows are entered-price sensitivities, not forecasts, live valuations, fill promises, account records, maximum-loss estimates or recommendations.
Futures profit calculator: quick answer
For a long futures position, multiply exit minus entry by the entered contract multiplier and whole contracts. For a short position, reverse the price-change sign. Subtract only the costs actually entered here to obtain net P/L. Tick-based P/L should reconcile to the same gross result when tick size and multiplier use one contract specification.
Audited WTI-style entered example
Select long and enter 53.60 at entry, 54.00 at exit, a 0.01 minimum increment, 1,000 units per contract, two whole contracts, USD 8.50 round-turn cost per contract and USD 3 of other position costs.
The +0.40 price move equals +40 ticks. At USD 10 per tick, gross P/L is +USD 800. Entered costs total USD 20, so net P/L is +USD 780. Exact fee recovery is a +0.01 move from entry, producing a 53.61 break-even illustration.
How futures profit and loss is calculated
Direction-adjusted move = raw price change × (+1 long or −1 short)
Tick value per contract = minimum price increment × contract multiplier
Gross P/L = direction-adjusted move × contract multiplier × whole contracts
Net P/L = gross P/L − entered round-turn costs − other entered position costs
CME Group explains futures P/L by multiplying ticks moved by the value of one tick and the number of contracts. The direct price-change identity is equivalent when all inputs share the same quotation convention. The calculation audit displays both paths and requires their difference to be zero.
P/L, notional, margin and account return are different
| Quantity | Core arithmetic | Useful for | Does not prove |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trade P/L | Direction-adjusted price move × multiplier × contracts − costs | One entered outright price path | Maximum loss, probability or account return |
| Contract notional | Price × multiplier × contracts | Entered exposure magnitude | Cash paid or maximum loss |
| Initial margin | Current requirement per contract × contracts | Opening performance-bond planning | Trade cost or fixed loss cap |
| Account return | Defined account performance ÷ account-capital basis | Portfolio/account measurement | Trade P/L divided by contract margin |
Realized review versus unrealized scenario
Actual opening and closing fills can reconstruct a completed trade before statement reconciliation. A current, target or stop price instead creates a hypothetical or unrealized scenario. This calculator cannot identify which type was entered, confirm executability, reproduce daily variation-margin cash flows or replace the broker’s purchase-and-sale statement.
Zero and negative futures prices remain mathematically valid because documented futures markets can cross those levels. Tick size, multiplier, whole contracts and costs retain their positive or non-negative validation boundaries.
Assumptions and limits
- Every price, tick, multiplier, contract count and cost is user-entered and unverified.
- One linear outright long or short position is modeled; options, spreads, inverse contracts and nonlinear payoffs are excluded.
- Round-turn cost per contract scales with contract count; the separate other-position cost remains one fixed position amount.
- Unentered spread, slippage, commissions, exchange, clearing, platform, data, tax, delivery and financing costs remain excluded.
- Daily settlement, variation margin, margin calls, liquidation, cash withdrawals and account equity are not modeled.
- The five exit and five contract rows are arithmetic sensitivities, not forecasts, probabilities, signals or recommendations.
A careful futures P/L workflow
- Identify the exact product, delivery month and outright transaction type.
- Copy the current multiplier, minimum increment and quotation convention from the exchange specification.
- Choose long or short from the actual position.
- Use actual fills for realized review or label hypothetical prices clearly.
- Normalize all per-side fees into one round-turn-per-contract amount.
- Add separate same-currency position costs without double-counting.
- Reconcile completed results with the official broker statement.
Frequently asked questions
- Apply the long or short sign to exit minus entry, multiply by the entered contract multiplier and whole contracts, then subtract only the costs entered on this page.
- For a short position, direction-adjusted movement is entry minus exit, so a lower exit produces positive gross P/L before entered costs.
- Tick size converts the entered price movement into ticks and, with the multiplier, derives tick value. Tick-based and direct price-move gross P/L should reconcile.
- They move the entered exit by minus two, minus one, zero, plus one and plus two entered ticks while every other input stays fixed.
- They apply the same entered price path to five adjacent positive whole-contract counts. Per-contract round-turn cost scales, while the separate other-position cost stays fixed.
- No. It subtracts only the entered round-turn cost per contract and the separate position-level cost. Every unentered charge remains excluded.
- Yes. The model accepts finite entry and exit prices, while tick size, multiplier and whole contracts must remain positive.
- No. It is the entered price movement needed to offset entered costs under this linear model. Spread, slippage, added fees and actual execution can change realized cost recovery.
- Yes for a clearly labeled unrealized scenario, but the output is not a realized account result and does not guarantee that price is executable.
- No. It reconstructs one entered price path and is not a forecast, signal, maximum-loss estimate, account record or recommendation.
Sources and methodology
- CME Group — Calculating Futures Contract Profit or Loss — explains tick value, ticks moved and multi-contract P/L.
- CME Group — Getting Started With Your Broker — describes commission, platform and data fees and broker-specific requirements.
- CFTC — Futures Glossary — provides public definitions for futures-industry terms and account records.
- CFTC — Futures Market Basics — covers daily settlement, margin obligations and futures risk.
The operational contract is Entered Futures Profit version 2.0.0. Independent fixtures cover long/short symmetry, zero and negative prices, tick reconciliation, fee-aware break-even, two direction rows, five one-tick exit rows, five whole-contract rows, CSV structure and field-specific invalid inputs.
Continue the futures planning workflow
Compare broker products separately
The brokers below primarily offer leveraged forex or CFD products, not necessarily the exchange-futures contract model on this page. Verify symbol, contract size, price source, expiry, financing, margin, costs and execution terms independently.
Risk warning and affiliate disclosure: Futures and leveraged derivatives are high risk, and losses can exceed the initial funds deposited. Links above are affiliate links; we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. This calculator is educational and does not provide personalized advice.